More Juicing!

Yesterday I talked about the benefits of juicing for optimal health. For those of you with juicers (or, potential juicer-owners), I’m going to provide a few more recipes today for good juices that target certain health issues. Enjoy!

Anxiety, Stress, & Panic Attacks

Healing fruits and vegetables for those who suffer from occasional or even chronic anxiety include apricots, bananas, broccoli, carrots, celery, fennel, leafy greens, onions and watercress. Some herbs that are helpful include alfalfa, borage, garlic, chamomile, lavender, lemon balm and parsley. Other helpful foods include almond milk, dulse, honey, kelp, almonds, tofu, and oats.

Foods rich in B-vitamins, such as leafy greens and whole grains, will help support the nervous system, which helps us cope with stress and anxiety. Some foods to avoid during times of anxiety or stress include caffeine, alcohol, refined flours and sugars, artificial flavors and colors, and any foods you may be allergic or intolerant of.

Juice for Anxiety, Stress & Panic Attacks

1 cup spinach leaves

1 cup kale leaves

1 beet

2 celery stalks

1 apple

Optional: dandelion root or blackstrap molasses

Cancer Prevention

The risk factors for cancer, as most of us know, include tobacco and alcohol use; exposure to toxins in food and/or environment; and family history of cancer. A diet of mainly whole foods that includes large amounts of fresh fruits and vegetables can be a powerful tool in cancer prevention, along with exercise.

Foods that help with cancer prevention include apples, apricots, berries, citrus fruits, figs, grapes, kiwis, mangoes, peaches, watermelon, asparagus, beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, leafy greens, onions, sweet potatoes, tomatoes and watercress. Herbs that are helpful include burdock root, calendula, echinacea, garlic, green tea, parsley, sage and turmeric. Other great cancer prevention foods include extra virgin olive oil, fish oil, flax, legumes, nuts, seeds, wheat grass and whole grains.

Juice for Cancer Prevention

¼ head cabbage, chopped to fit juicer tube

2 carrots

2 celery stalks

1 clove garlic

3 sprigs fresh parsley

1 beet

1 apple

1 spear broccoli

Hangover

As many of us know, a hangover can include things like headaches, fatigue, nausea, dizziness, depression, cravings, and more. Alcohol severely dehydrates the body, increases acidity in our digestive system, causes the loss of potassium and other vitamins, and affects our liver.

Healing fruits and vegetables for a hangover include apples, bananas, lemons, limes and leafy greens. Herbs that can be helpful include cumin, evening primrose oil, ginger, chamomile and lavender.

Hangover Helper Juice

2 apples

1 small piece gingerroot

1 lemon

Optional: 2 starfruits, crushed lavender buds

Note: Much of the above information was adapted from The Juicing Bible, by Pat Crocker

Starfruit

While meandering through Whole Foods last week, I saw they had a few starfruit in the produce section. And since I try to make an effort to buy a variety of things whenever I grocery shop, I grabbed one. I hadn’t eaten one since I was a kid!

Starfruit was originally grown on trees that are native to parts of Asia, and is now grown in many different places, including Hawaii and Florida. When choosing a starfruit, look for one that is yellow with some lighter green on it. The five edges should be a little brown, and the fruit should be fairly firm with no soft spots. If there are brown spots, the fruit may be overripe.

To eat, just wash it well (especially since for most of us it probably won’t be locally grown), chop off the stem end so you have a flat surface. Then, carefully slice off each of the five edges of the fruit, which will be a little bit browned (I did this step last, because I began slicing faster than Ed could google "how to cut a starfruit"). After that, you can just slice the fruit into pieces and eat! The skin of the starfruit is meant to be eaten.

Nutrients in starfruit include vitamin C, fiber and lots of antioxidants. It is lower in sugar than some other fruits, so could be beneficial for someone watching their sugar intake. An entire starfruit contains only 30 calories.

Really, they aren’t any type of superfood but they taste really fresh and I think they’d be a pretty garnish for a salad or a dessert. We happened to have ours for breakfast. Kids will love starfruit purely because of its fun shape!